What it means to be a Witch
by IvoryMaster
Summary: What does it mean to be a witch? One Karlsland witch will find out as she is confronted with harsh realizations about the meaning of being a witch. Whether she accepts his views on witches or not, does that make Ultron wrong?


**I do not own Strike Witches or the Avenger film**

The night sky seemed to glimmer on this particular night. The moon radiated outward similarity to the sun shining forth during the day, and the wind's breezes were gentle enough to cause no coldness, but rather establish a sense of comfort and relaxation as they effortlessly danced across the skin. Gertrude Barkhorn found herself positioned near a window, gazing towards the bright moon and the stars that husbanded with the moon in the background. Her mind reminisced back to the time when it was a similar night like this, but on that night, she was tormented by the nightmares she was having about the fall of Karlsland. It has been a long time since she has thought about the fall of Karlsland because that kind of thinking would naturally shift to thoughts about her sister Chris. It was thanks to Yoshika Miyafugi that Gertrude was able mend her troubles and have the strength again to see her sister again. She still has to find a way to thank Yoshika for what she did for her, but that can wait after their mission was complete in Britannia. The sound of footsteps interrupted her train of though. She turned around and notice Minna standing next the door frame.

"Fancy catching you here in the middle of the night, Trude." She started.

"Really? I guess you are kind of right since it has been a while since I have just stared up at the moon." Barkhorn responded with a small smile etched on her face.

"The last time I found you like this, you were not in a very good place. Tell me Trudy, how are you holding up?" Minna asked, a little bit worried about her friend's mental state remembering the last time the two of them saw each other. Gertrude was wrapped in grief about the night Karlsland fell, and her sister fell into a coma.

"I feel alright. Ever since Sergeant Miyafugi knocked some since into me with her words, I feel myself improving every day. It was thanks to her that I was able to see Chris again. Before all that, I had really thought that that part of me died the day Karlsland fell." She said, migrating her hand to right cheek. "I also remember the slap you gave me to physically knock some since into me." She added in.

"I am sorry about that." Minna apologized, but Barkhorn only shook her head.

"Don't be. I deserved it. If I have kept fighting the way I had, then I would surely gotten myself killed on that day." She reassured her. The Wing Commander could only smile warmly to see her friend better. Sure, they still had a war to fight, but seeing Barkhorn not troubled by the past is reason enough to rejoice. It was at this point that Minna let out a yawn, to which Barkhorn would hear.

"Well, I am going to bed now. I have a lot of paperwork to do in the morning, and I need to get a good night's rest. Will you be heading to bed soon?"

"Not just yet. I think I will be heading towards the balcony for a while before I retire to my quarters. I am going to need all that cold, fresh air so I don't get to mad about how messy Hartmann keeps her side of the room." She answered.

"I see. Well, don't stay up for too long then. I will see you in the morning. Gute Nacht, Trudy." She said as she wave her hand then turning around and disappearing from the door.

"Gute Nacht, Minna." Barkhorn replied back. After Minna left, Gertrude left the room and made her way to the balcony to have a better view of the horizon. The view from the balcony was breathtaking. Nothing but the view of the vast Britannish Channel underneath the lush night sky with the moon reflected by the water, producing a satisfying glow to help illuminate the night Though the night skies look peaceful, it was more dangerous than it appeared for Neuroi love this type of setting. Normal witches under these conditions would not be as effective as the Neuroi's hide can easily camouflage itself with the night sky background. It was thanks to Sanya and other night witches that allow witches like Barkhorn and the rest of the 501st to sleep peacefully at night knowing that night witches are patrolling the night skies for any Neuroi activity.

Captain Barkhorn ended up staying up for another thirty minutes admiring the scenery that was presented to her for it brought something rare that most of humanity wants… a sense of peace. During a time like this, peace can be considered a luxury that most people couldn't afford. During her half hour awake, she thought about many things: the plans to eventually retake Gallia followed by the liberation of her home country, her sister Chris who was very happy to see her once she came to visit, plans to help shape Hartmann into a perfect Karlsland soldier with vigorous training, but most importantly, she thought about Yoshika. It was because of her she was able to break free from her destructive path and help revive the person she thought died Because of this, she is forever thankful to Miyafugi, and one day, she will have to make it up to her. Maybe once Karlsland is freed from Neuroi occupation, Barkhorn would happily give Miyafugi a tour of her home town. Of course this was in no way compared to what she did for her, but it's a start. Staring out into the Britannish horizon with the dark skies caused Gertrude's mind to shift to thoughts about Sanya. She doesn't really talk to Sanya that much due to her sleeping during the day and awake at night. Barkhorn feels a little worried about her sometimes because she is so quite. Usually when the whole 501st is sent out, she is sometimes worrying about Sanya at times. But lately, it looks like she has been coming out of her shell lately. Barkhorn has no doubt that it was Miyafugi's doing. After she temporally joined her unit, Sanya has been more conversational lately, not a whole lot, but enough to notice her trying to make conversation. Thinking about Sanya reminded Gertrude of how she has been acting lately. After Yoshika was in her unit, she has been more conversational, but lately, she seems to be retreating back into her former state. What could have possibly happened to cause her to be more reserved when she was making such good progress? Her eyelids weighed more as time creeped by. She let out a big yawn, and during her yawn she could hear footsteps coming from behind her. The only person that came to mind that would most likely be wake at this time other than Sanya would be Minna. She was probably checking up on Barkhorn again if she was still awake. Minna is a good friend of hers and has a lot of care for her witches under her command, so she can see why she would wake up to check up on her.

"I know. I should really go to bed. I was about to anyway, Minna. I do appreciate the jester." Barkhorn exclaimed. What she did not expect was a response from somebody other than Minna. In fact, the voice that responded did not sound female at all. It sounded like it was a man's voice but distorted like he was talking through a radio.

"Sorry, Captain. Were you expecting the Wing Commander? Sorry to mislead you. In any case, aces like yourself should really be in bed at this hour. You wouldn't want be too tired an function properly now do you?" Barkhorn quickly turned herself to face her unknown assailant while reaching her sidearm. She brought it up, and pointed her pistol at the person, but for her, she was not sure what she was pointing at. This figure was twice her size. Its body was covered with metal, possibly steel or other heavier metals. On its chest was a faint, red glow coming from behind its chest plates. The human-shape it took look menacing as its red, glowing eyes locked on to Barkhorn's eyes. She was left utterly speechless as she, for the first time in a while, did not know what to do for she did not expecting anything like this.

"But then again, it could be difficult to sleep knowing that there is a hive right across this channel, to which only one witch is patrolling." He jokes has he chuckles under his own voice. Barkhorn soon broke out of her trace as she begins to shake her head vigorously to help understand the situation she is in.

"Who or what are you, and what are you doing here?!" Barkhorn orders the figure, keeping her gun's sight on the metal man. The metal man was not intimidated. In fact, he laughed out of disbelief as he thought a small arm like a pistol, a Mauser to be exact, can stop his advanced, heavily-armored body like himself. It might as well have been a pee shooter as such a weapon could never harm him. Once finished examining the antique, she returned his attention to the Flight Lieutenant.

"Captain, what do you expect to do with that antique? If you value your life, I suggest you put your weapon on the ground." He warns her. Like the metal man, Gertrude was also not intimidated by his threat. From what she can see, the metal man appeared to be unarmed, but even looks can be deceiving. She took a closer examination of the metal man as she wanted to be certain that he was not armed. His hands were empty and there was no sign of anything that resembled a weapon. After a few moments, she made a call about the situation.

"You are not in a position to threaten me for you are not even armed. Now, I will ask again, who are you, or what are you, and what are you doing in a military base?!" She demanded of him with a fierce voice that also described the stare she gave him. The metal man shook his head in disappointment. Not only did he know that she had no idea what she was dealing with, but it seems that his expectations of her have decreased as her detective skill need to be improved.

"Kid, you have no idea how wrong you are." He stated. He then stretched forth his hand with his palm directed at her gun, and he twisted his hand upward while closing his hand to form a fist. Barkhorn could feel her grip tightened as her pistol was being tugged out of her hand as some sort of invisible force was pulling it away from her. This unknown force kept growing exponentially to the point where her physical strength could not hold on to the weapon anymore. At that point, she had to rely on her magic. Dog ears and a tail soon sprouted from her head and lower back as she channeled her magic. Her grip around her gun began to tighten more as her magic increased her strengths far beyond what a mundane person can do. Soon, she met the force on her pistol and slowly began to overpower it as she was able to pull back her weapon. The metal man, annoyed by this unexpected development of her overpowering the Chitauri anti-gravity devices in his hand, began to apply more power to the gravity manipulation on her pistol. This force was at odds with Gertrude's strength as neither side could overpower the other. Seeing that brute force will not relinquish her grip around her weapon, the metal man used his other hand to pick up a couch cushion, and violently chucked it at Barkhorn. The cushion hit her directly in the face, effectively disrupting her magic flow for a second. A second that the metal man needed. In that brief second, The gravitational force overpowered her increased strength, causing her pistol to fly out of her hands with great velocity until the metal man's hand caught the Mauser as there was a big "clang" that echoed throughout the room. Coming out of her daze, she saw the metal man's hand around her pistol as he began to tighten his clutch around it, crushing it in his hand like it was a piece of paper. A single drop of sweat slowly ran down the side of her head. She just lost her weapon and was unarmed, and seeing that the metal man had some sort of telekinetic ability along with super-human strength, this was certainly a cause for worry.

"Nnng I'm sorry. I didn't mean to throw that cushion at you, but you didn't want to release your grip on you gun, forcing my hand." he apologized in a believable tone. "Now, seeing that you don't have that pea shooter on you, let me introduce myself. I am Ultron, and I came here for a singular purpose, Captain." Barkhorn did not like the way Ultron talked to her. The way he apologized almost sounded the way an adult has to explain to a child why certain actions have to be. Explaining in a gentle voice with simple explanations… it only served to ignite the fires that were beginning to churn inside her.

"Stop treating me like a child! I am a captain in the Karlsland Empire. Not only that, I am also one of Karlsland's best witches, so do not talk down to me like I am some child." Gertrude lashed out at him in a fierce tone with a fire burning in her eyes as she stared into Ultron's eyes. Ultron simply shrugged off her empty complaint/threat for he has dealt with more-difficult people in his past, so tending to her was not such a chore.

"Just as I thought, all bark and no bite. It's a shame really. I didn't think someone of you stature would be this harmless. I think it just might be the stare." He mentioned as he motioned his hand around his face. "I can see why some people would be hesitant to approach you, but once someone gets past the aimless anger, the hollow threats, and harsh demeanor, they see that you are nothing more than a girl with a temper issue, Trudy." He casually said as if he were a friend of hers. The only people who would call her by that name would be Minna and Hartmann. Trude or Trudy would be the names they call her because they were her closet friends, so the fact that Ultron, a person or robot she has met that she finds very irritating, called her by one of her nicknames caused Gertrude to grind her teeth.

"Don't call me Trudy!" He barked out immediately. "You will refer to me as Captain Barkhorn. Is that clear?" She warned him as if he was a new soldier who just disrespected his commanding officer..

"Talk about anger management. Although, this is nothing compared what that scientist becomes when he gets angry. Enough small talk. It is time to get to business, Captain." He states as his tone shifts from witty and mocking to serious and almost callous. Finally, Barkhorn was going to get somewhere with him. Though her blood was boiling, she managed to calm herself down. As an officer, she had to maintain some civility even though her gut reaction wanted to tear the robot in front of her apart.

"Ultron, First of all. What was that force that caused my sidearm to fly out of my hand? I doubt that it was some type of magic seeing that you are… different." She questioned as she was genially curious as to what caused her pistol to fly out of her arm. Ultron extended his hand towards the couch cushion and slowly moved his arm up. The cushion began float up as Ultron performed his action. Gertrude can only watch in amazement as Ultron was moving an object without actually touching it.

"Repurposed Anti-gravity drives that were originally built to keep the Chitauri Leviathans afloat. Using my hands, I can create gravity fields around objects and move them with a simple motion of my hands. Quite powerful technology as it can actually rip chucks of the Earth off the ground." He explained. Gertrude took in the explanation and tried to understand it. The idea of having anti-gravity drives sounds otherworldly. Judging from the demonstrations, this piece of technology was advances; far more advance than anything they have, including the Striker Units.

 _How did he manage to get his hands on such advance technology? Karlsland is not even possess such technology. In fact, his entire body looks like it was made with highly-advanced technology. Where did it all come from, and what did he mean by Leviathans?_ She thought. If her knowledge served her well, Leviathans are like giant, snake-like sea creatures. Those things don't exist, but he made it sound like they did. Aside from Leviathans, there was one more pressing question that she had to ask.

"What are the Chitauri?" She asked.

"I don't have time to explain it to you, captain. Let's just say, they are enemies." He answered. Ultron doesn't have time to answer all of her questions. He can tell that she was fascinated by what he did with the cushion, but he also knew that she was angry, and if he continues to drag this on, the others might eventually wake up seeing that she is making a lot of noise.

"Any more questions, Captain?" he asked.

"This should go without saying, but… Are you a Neuroi?" Ultron couldn't help but plant his forehead on his hand for the stupid question, in his opinion, the Karlsland witch made.

"Do I look like a Neuroi to you? Does this silver-colored armor around me look black to you? You may be an ace, but that doesn't excuse you from asking obvious questions that you should know the answer to" he explained. "Then again, you are only human, so I can't really be mad about that." Barkhorn's fist began to clench as she heard his statement. She can tell right away that this being looked down on humans. The way he said his explanation was what gave it away. Throughout her years as a witch, she has encountered her fair share of people that disliked the use of witches in the armies. The way they talk about them, and the way superiors talk to witches was appalling for some. Her exposure to that was what helped her draw the conclusion that this… "robot" disliked humans.

"The way you said that… it makes me believe you dislike humanity." She pointed out. Ultron remained silent until the sound of two metal plates started hitting each other in a rhythmic sequence. The source was Ultron's hand for he was slowing clapping for Barkhorn.

"Very gallant of you, Captain. To think that you were nothing more than some hot-headed person. Where was this when we first started talking?" He asked having a little bit of his impression on her improved.

"So I am right. You don't like humans, do you?" She continued.

"I wouldn't say that. I do dislike humans… in the current state they're in."

"What do you mean by that?"

"What you guys do. I get that you protect people from the Neuroi. It is a noble thing, but how will that help anyone if they can't change, Captain?"

"What do you mean by change?" She asked suspiciously.

"Evolution." He uttered.

"What?"

"You'll soon learn what I mean, but that is not why I came here." After he said this, Ultron shuffled through some of the recordings he downloaded into his processors and began playing one specific tape for Gertrude.

 _My dream for the future would be to free my homeland, Karlsland. But I shouldn't call it a dream. I will make it happen. And then I want Chris to get better so that I can take her back to the place she grew up._

"That is a pretty big dream to free an entire country from the Neuroi. How will you do that if they have almost complete control of Europe?" He asked feigning ignorance.

"Well…" Barkhorn did not know how to answer that question. All they ever done so far is hold out against the Neuroi. Ever sense the fall of Karlsland, the Neuroi have successfully pushing back humanity's forces until they manage to get almost complete control of western Europe, making Britannia the last ally-controlled country in the western front. If Britannia falls, there will be no way to recapture Europe, and it will drive the Neuroi to focus on the Southern part where Romagna is located. All the 501st been doing is protecting Britannia from Neuroi invasion. Wave after wave of Neuroi the 501st has repelled, but no sign or even efforts to go on the offensive.

"Not even a single word. What a shame, Captain. Let me tell you what I think will happen. The 501st will keep defending Britannia to their very last breath. Once the Neuroi are finished transforming your bodies to ash with their weaponry. Britannia and all of its citizen will suffer the same fate as the rest of Europe. It is only a matter of time, Captain, and yet, you and all of the other witches believe that you'll take back…Fran… Gallia, Karlsland, Orussia etc. You feed lies to the citizens, making them believe that their homes will be freed. They see you as heroes, maiden of the skies, but all I see is liars." His voice begins increase in volume with rage and irritations mixed in with his words. "You and all other witches are just a sickness, spreading around and infecting the minds of millions, but Miyafugi just may be the worst of them all, believing that she can protect everybody. She may be worst, but she is nothing compared to Stark!" Once he finished his tirade, he began to calm himself down. If he gets too frustrated, then he might do something that he might regret. He does not want another incident like the one with Klaue in Africa. He can't help it. He hates it when people think that he is just one of Starks puppets. Returning back to the conversation at hand, Ultron noticed the expression on Gertrude's face. Horror and probably disgust painted her face, but it was not because the horrible things he said, but it was because there might be some truth to his words. How long can the 501st keep protecting Britannia until eventually there is a Neuroi forces too strong for them? The majority of people do admire the witches for what they do. They inspire hope into those that have lost their homes, and even inspire young witches to join their respective militaries to help fight off the Neuroi, but was all of that just a way to cope with the idea that humanity may die out? To feed the public false hope so they don't think about their inevitable death? This kind of thinking made Gertrude's stomach turn to the point that she might start to feel physically sick. She looked as if she was about to concede and actually agree with Ultron. She opened her mouth as she prepared herself to say something important.

"I…" before she can say anymore. The words of Yoshika began to echo in her head.

 _If you are not around then people will die… I know that it is impossible to protect everyone, Captain, but I am still going to try. That is why I came here to do…. I want to help as many people as I can, and right now, You need help._

"Even in times like this, your words are always there to give me comfort." She muttered under her breath. Ultron heard her speak, but he couldn't hear the exact words she said.

"What?" He asked. Barkhorn straightened herself up, and looked Ultron directly in the eyes with determination.

"I will admit that the Neuroi have almost complete domination of Western Europe, but we still have Britannia, and as long as we have some part of Europe, there is always hope. You say that driving the Neuroi out is impossible. I am going to have to disagree with you on that. We will take back our homelands. Karlsland, Gallia, Orussia, all of them. I have faith in the 501st… no, faith in all witches everywhere that we will prevail over the Neuroi. Sure, they have the upper hand, but it is time like this that we will rise to the challenge and defeat the enemy. As long as I am alive, I will fend off the Neuroi with all of my strength, or die trying for that is what it means to be a witch, a maiden of the sky." This was her answer, and she said it well. She got what she needed to say, and it was once again thanks to Yoshika. Ultron only kept his stare on Gertrude, never leaving her eyes as he was fixated on them trying to find any hint of doubt in her eyes for they speak more than what she and ever say.

He didn't find anything.

"It looks like words are not enough to get the idea through to you. What a shame, and here I thought there might be some hope for you. I don't know what Miyafugi said to you, but I can definitely say that it's all false. If you are wondering why I think Miyafugi might have some hand in this because what you said sounds like something she would say. The world's righteous girl… hmpf. She is no different than God's righteous man." He explained.

"It looks like I overstayed my welcome. For your own safety, I would not report this to anybody. Don't tell you friends, don't tell you commanding officer, and don't tell her about this conversation." He ordered.

"Why would I not tell anybody?" She asked.

"Because I know where Chris is, and I will pay her a visit it you say anything to anybody." He answered. Gertrude froze up the moment he mentioned Chris. Anger began to overtake her again.

"If you lay even an eye on my sister, then I will…"

"Do what?" he cut her off. "I already took away your weapon, and I am just as strong…no, stronger than you. What can you possibly do to harm me?" He asked. Barkhorn can only grind her teeth for he did have point. She does not know what he is capable of. Who is to say that he can fly at super-fast speeds and reach where Chris is? She simply does not know much about Ultron. She only stood there as she cannot find any words to say to him.

"That is what I thought. Now if you excuse me, I will be taking my leave." He turned himself around and proceed to the door frame. As he was about to walk out, there was one more pressing matter Gertrude has to ask.

"Wait! Before you leave, answer me this, who is this Stark you mentioned?" he asked. Ultron stopped at the doorframe.

"Someone I despise." Was all he said not even turning around to face Gertrude. _Whoever this Stark is, he must not like him or her._

"I'll see you again, Gertrude." With that, he disappeared from the door frame.

That night, Gertrude had a hard time falling asleep. She couldn't get her mind off knowing that Ultron can potentially harm Chris. She just managed to forgive herself for what happened to her. If anything were to happen to her, she would lose it, and it would be her fault. She does not know how truthful Ultron is to his word. What if he does decide to harm Chris? She twist and turns a lot as worry plagues her. It was only a matter of time before sleep began to wash over her as her eyelids become heavy as stones. Before she was seduced by sleep, she thought about the conversation, and noticed something, or rather, somebody he is not quite fond of. She managed to get one sentence out before she was lulled away into her sleep.

"Ultron… what do you have… against… Yoshika?"


End file.
